Attracting international students to a developing Asian country

Push–pull factors for a niche market, the case of a Vietnamese higher education institution

Bibliographic Data

ID21727966
AuthorsMai Thi Kim Khanh (0000-0002-2162-2699, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, corresponding author), Chau Huy Ngoc (0000-0003-0986-9303, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City)
Year2023
Volume21
Issue4
Pages445-464
Publication date2023-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolicy Futures in Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1478-2103 • E-ISSN: 1478-2103
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14782103221134186
OpenAlexW4307044582
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited37

Student mobility has become a global phenomenon with an upward trend in the past two decades, and Asian countries are becoming important receiving countries. Such phenomenon has been increasingly investigated producing a growing body of literature on Asia-bound international student mobility. However, while some countries stand in the spotlight of international student scholarship, other lesser known destinations remain underrepresented. This article provides an exploratory effort to examine factors that attract international students to Vietnam, a country which has not been visible on international student mobility landscape as a receiving destination. The study employs push–pull factors framework and a mixed methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative methods (n = 94) to examine the push–pull factors that influence the decision of international students to choose Vietnam as the destination country and a Vietnamese higher education institution as host institution. Research findings show that major push factors include aspirations for new experiences, home country economic outlook and pessimistic job prospects at home. Regarding pull factors, at national level, bright economic prospect is the top pull factor attracting international students to a developing country like Vietnam, and at institutional level, the university’s reputation and its Vietnamese Studies and language programmes are the most important pull factors attracting international students to the university to study. Based on the research results, recommendations are proposed for higher education institutions in Vietnam and other developing Asian countries to attract international students with implications against the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

Developing country · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Higher education · Institution · International education · Political science · Public relations · Reputation · Scholarship · Vietnamese · Higher Education Governance and Development · International Business and FDI · International Student and Expatriate Challenges

Tools

Open DOI